Popular Hyperhidrosis Treatments – An Evaluation of Sweating Treatments

There are several treatment options available for the management of hyperhidrosis, the medical name of excessive sweating. The essential forms of treating hyperhidrosis are: oral medications; botox injections, surgery and natural therapy. Here is an over view of some of the popular hyperhidrosis treatments:

1. Oral medications: These are the least compliant as patients often complain of serious and annoying side effects like dry mouth, constipation or even blurred vision. The most popular drug in this segment is perhaps is Ditropan. However users often have drowsiness as well as dry mouth.

Then there are beta-blockers, which are not as efficacious Ditropan. Since excessive sweating is more often than not, caused by specific psychological conditions, doctors often prescribe an anti-depressant for the treatment of hyperhidrosis.

2. Surgery: There are basically two types of surgeries you could get to treat this ailment. One of them is called ETS or Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy, which offers the convenience of a reversible therapy. A clamp is placed on various parts of the sympathetic nervous system which can be removed in case you do not approve of the results of the surgery.

The other form of surgical intervention is not reversible. Taking into consideration the cost and risk factor involved in any surgery, many do not prefer this option.

3. Use of anti-perspirant: By far the most preferred method of treatment of hyperhidrosis, the main ingredient of any top selling brand (there are plenty of brands to choose from) is aluminum chloride (hexahydrate). If you do not mind buying multiple bottles, this could be a viable option.

While Aluminum chloride is used in lesser amounts in deodorants, those who suffer from hyperhidrosis need it in higher quantum – 15% amounts for about a week for any significant effect to occur. The only problem with aluminum chloride is that many people can not tolerate this chemical and at the same time it is not effective in certain types of hyperhidrosis like palmar and plantar varieties.

4. Botox injections: Although this injection has been used for some time now, the main ingredient of the drug, botulinum toxin type A, is now known to cause serious and harmful side effects. The more data modern research comes up with, the more people are shunning away from it. However, the injection is FDA approved and partly covered by many health insurance policies as well. This therapy option is possibly the most used among sufferers of hyperhidrosis.

5. Natural remedy option: The ancient Chinese art of healing called acupuncture has been proved to treat hyperhidrosis effectively. This form of treatment does not require any drugs and has shown noticeable results in a number of patients suffering from hyperhidrosis.

While the above gives you a broad overview of the treatment options available for hyperhidrosis, it must also be remembered that there has been no permanent solution to the problem, as very little is known about its cause and origin.